Captain Jinks, Hero Part 12

General Laughter is rather slow, but he means business. Gomaldo is getting a big army together, and we may have to take the offensive to get ahead of him. Now I suppose we ought to turn in. How would you like to take a look at Havilla to-morrow and see the place where the naval battle was? We can get off duty in the afternoon. All right, let's meet at regimental headquarters at three."

Cleary bade them good-night, and Sam, who was beginning to feel uncomfortable effects from his cigar, was quite ready to go to bed.

Sam's morning was occupied in familiarizing himself with the regimental routine in barracks. The building enclosed a large court which was used for drills and guard-mounting parade, and he did not have occasion to leave it until he went to join his friends at headquarters. Promptly at three o'clock the three men sallied forth. Sam was struck with the magnificence of the princ.i.p.al buildings, including the palace and the cathedral.

"It's a fine city, isn't it?" he said.

"Yes, and the women are not bad-looking," said Cleary.

"The people don't quite look like savages," said Sam.

"You can't judge of them by these," said Foster. "Wait till you meet some negritos in the country."

"How large a part of the population are they?" said Sam.

"About one-fortieth, I think, but where principle is involved you can't go by numbers."

"Of course not," was Sam's reply. "What building is that," he added, "with our flag over it and the nicely dressed young women in the windows?"

"That?" said Foster, laughing; "oh, that's the Young Ladies' Home. We have to license the place. It's the only way to keep the army in condition. Why, we've got about fifty per cent infected now."

"Really?" cried Sam. "How our poor fellows are called upon to suffer for these ungrateful Cubapinos! Still they can feel that they are suffering for their country, too. That's a consolation."

"There's more consolation than that," said Foster, "for we're spreading the thing like wildfire among the natives. We'll come out ahead."

"I wish, tho, that they wouldn't fly Old Gory over the house,"

said Sam.

"There was some talk of taking it down, but you see it's the policy of the Administration never to haul down the flag when it has once been raised. It presents rather a problem, you see."

"It may wear out in time," said Sam, "altho it looks painfully new.

What will they do then?"

"I confess I don't know," said Foster. "They'll cross the bridge when they reach it."

"A good many of the shop signs are in English already," remarked Sam.

"That's a good beginning."

"Yes," said Cleary. "But they seem to be almost all saloons, that's queer."

"So they are," said Sam.

"There are some pretty good ones, too," said Foster. "Just stop in here for a moment and take a drink."

They entered a drinking-place and found a bar planned on the familiar lines of home.

"Look at this list of our drinks," said Foster proudly. "Count 'em; there are eighty-two."

Sam examined the list, which was printed and framed and hanging on the wall, and they each took a gla.s.s of beer, standing. There were about a dozen men in the place, most of them soldiers.

"Do they do a big business in these places?" asked Sam.

"You'll think so when you see the drunken soldiers in the streets in the evening," answered Foster. "We're planting our inst.i.tutions here, I tell you."

"Not only saloons," said Sam. "There's the post-office, for instance."

"They had a post-office before," said Cleary.

"But ours is surely better," rejoined Sam.

"It's better than it was," said Foster, "now that they've put the new postmaster in jail. They say he's bagged $75,000."

"It's a good example of the way we treat embezzlers," cried Sam. "It ought to be a lesson to these Cubapinos. He'll be sent home to be tried. They ought to do that with every one caught robbing the mails in any way."

"I'm afraid if they did the force would be pretty well crippled," said Foster.

"Then there's the custom house," said Sam. "They must be delighted to get rid of those Castalian swindlers."

"A merchant here told me," said Foster, "that they have to pay just as often now, but that they have to pay bigger sums."

"Of course," cried Cleary, "you wouldn't expect our people to bother with the little bribes the Castalians were after. We live on a larger scale. It will do these natives good to open their eyes to a real nation. I'm sorry any of them steal, but if they do, let 'em take a lot and be done with it."

"We must remember that these people are only civilians," said Sam.

"What can we expect of them?"

"Our commissary and quartermaster departments aren't much better, tho,"

said Foster. "Somebody's getting rich, to judge from the prices we pay and the stuff we get. The meat stinks, and the boots are made with glue instead of st.i.tches and nails."

"Then they must have been appointed from civil life," cried Sam.

"Come, Sam," said Cleary, "I'm a civilian now, and I'm not going to have you crow over us. How about Captain Peters, who was the pet of Whoppington and cleaned out the Deer Harbor fund?"

Sam walked on in silence.

"See here," said Foster, "I'm tired of going on foot. Let's take a cab.

Here, you fellow!"

A two-wheeled wagon with an awning, drawn by a small, s.h.a.ggy horse, drew up before them.

"There's a gentleman in it," said Sam. "We must wait for another."

"Nonsense!" cried Foster in a loud voice. "You evidently are a new arrival. It's only one of those monkeys. Here you, sir, get out of that!"

The native expostulated a little, shrugged his shoulders, and did as he was told, and the three men got in.

"I'm afraid he didn't like it," said Sam.

"Didn't like it? What of it?" said Foster. "Whatever we do in uniform is official business, and we've got to impress these fellows with our power and make them respect us."